Travel Blogging Guides & Tips From A Full-Time Travel Blogger: 2025

My Blogging Appraisal Of 2018

Some exciting highlights, a few lows, and a quick look ahead to 2019. This is my blogging appraisal of 2018.

Last year around this time I wrote my first ever blogging appraisal. It’s always a reflective time of year, yet as I am self-employed, I don’t get to work through my career progression, talk about the highs and lows, the things I’ve achieved and the things that need to be improved. So, as I enjoyed writing one last year, and you guys chose to read it (thank you!!) I thought we could do it again. Let’s grab a coffee, no make mine a glass of wine, and see how it goes?

2018 has been another busy year. Last year I said I was planning to slow down a bit, and while I’d say I did… I still kept up a pretty speedy pace at times!

In numbers 2018 looks like this: 15 different countries visited including three brand new ones (Singapore, Malaysia and Japan) and 42 flights. To put that into perspective, that works out as one flight every eight days. Don’t worry I’m still committed to planting trees in our aptly named Blogger Grove.

85+ blogs written and published, thousands of photos snapped, edited and uploaded. This one was one of my fave from the year.

It was the year of semi-settling as my boyfriend and I moved into a lovely little flat in West London, and celebrated our three year anniversary. Read more about a few of this year’s biggest decisions here: The Future And Buying Pot Plants

The year of returning to a country that holds some super special memories from the start of this blog, and the year of finally travelling to a destination that has been at the top of my bucket list for a very long time!

And the year of continuing to do what I love… well most of the time anyway!

So, let’s start this appraisal with a few highs…

Unless you’ve done some serious research on how to start a travel blog, you’re likely to make a few mistakes and learn as you go! Time for me to share a few things I wish I’d known about starting a travel blog.

It’s been a while since I wrote something really personal on here! Over the past few months I’ve been distracted by travels to Italy, Croatia and the UAE, and with those trips came deadlines, clients, video edits and all that goes into the ‘worky’ side of things.

But wait, this is MY corner of the internet, and I love that I can share whatever I fancy right here.

I was thinking the other day, as I read back yet another clunky blog post from the early days of Wanderlust Chloe, that I’ve come a long way. I don’t mean this in a ‘pat on the back give her a gold star’ kind of way. I just mean, wow I’ve learned SO much in this crazy process of starting a travel blog.

Looking to drive traffic to your blog using Pinterest? From designing pins that people want to click on, to coming up with appealing titles and what to do once your pin is live, here are a few handy tips, and some stats and examples too!

From One Blogger To Another…

This blog started as a place to share my adventures in food and travel. Unlike many bloggers, I’ve never written much about blogging itself.

But as this IS my full-time job, why haven’t I written about it? Firstly I worried it might confuse readers if I had content on travel, food and then blogging too. If you’re looking for travel inspo, do you want to read about WordPress, SEO and the hard graft that goes into a beautiful blog? Probably not…

Secondly, I wondered what I knew that was of value. I’m still learning and growing all the time. I definitely don’t have all the answers! So why would I blog about blogging when others have been going longer or are more successful?

Traffic Growth

Well, over the last year or so, I’ve had a few wins. One thing I’m really proud of is that my traffic has increased considerably. I used to write blogs that *hopefully* a few hundred people would read. I was happy if I logged onto my Google Analytics and saw there was 1 person on my site. That was exciting – who were they? How had they found me? What were they reading?!

These days though, those numbers have risen substantially. Google has ranked several of my posts on page 1 and 2, meaning that I receive daily traffic to those. That’s pushed up things like affiliate earnings and advertising rates. Nope, I’m not talking millions or even thousands, but it’s a step in the right direction! Perhaps I should write a little post like this one about SEO if anyone is still listening by the end of this post?

Then there’s Pinterest. A platform I pretty much ignored until about a year ago. But wow am I glad I got involved! It turns out Pinterest is a HUGE traffic driver.

Incredible view from Cat Bells in the Lake District

Find out more about my time so far as a Visit England ambassador, including my top destinations, a few new passions and where I’m heading next!

Last summer I received one of those emails that made me leap out of my chair, grab my phone and errr… call my Mum!

“I’ve been offered a really exciting opportunity – Visit England want me to be an ambassador,” I squealed!

It was such a perfect fit. Since I started blogging I’ve been quietly flying the flag for different areas around my home country. I’d explored Nottingham’s underground caves (not as spooky as it sounds), eaten my way around Canterbury in Kent (mmmm), looked for the perfect brunches in London (double mmmm), enjoyed a crisp spring break in the New Forest (chilly but worth it), enjoyed a retro holiday on the Isle of Wight (hilarious and very pretty), got lost in Oxford‘s charm (hello dream hometown), and discovered Hastings’ independent spirit (did somebody say gift shop?)

While I absolutely adore England, I was also aware that a lot of people my age skipped breaks on home turf for more exotic destinations. Yep, I know that weather plays a huge part in that decision, but I also think there’s another element. People don’t realise what’s right here, how accessible it is, and how much pleasure it can actually bring!

I recently wrote a blog about this exact topic – showing how there are plenty of places right here in England that compare to those abroad. Skip visiting the lavender fields of Provence and head to Norfolk instead! Swap the beaches of St Lucia for those in the Scilly Isles!

These colourful Instagram accounts are guaranteed to inspire you to travel the world!

Oh Instagram. The love/hate relationship continues. I’ve spent the last few years loving the creative process of taking photos, creating scenes and capturing moments. From candid shots in the snowy Cotswolds, to beach jaunts in Miami, I see my Instagram account as a virtual scrapbook of my travels.

The strange part is when you realise that while you’re taking your own photos of things that appeal to you, it might not be the first time it’s been snapped! This video popped up online last week, showing that many of us are unknowingly following in each others footsteps, as we use false perspective to transform the Leaning Tower Of Pisa into an ice cream sundae, or as we fling our arms out wide in front of Rio’s icon, Christ The Redeemer.

I’ve noticed something else. While many travel Insta accounts become almost clone-like as they apply washed-out filters and mute anything vibrant, I seemed to be heading in the other direction capturing the bluest of skies and choosing to leave the saturation on 0 rather than dull it down -10.

I’ve chatted about my love of colour a lot over the last year. It’s a passion that started young. Little Miss Sunshine was my role model. I loved her zest for life and how others loved to be around her.

As I’ve grown up, this love of colour has remained. It’s part of the reason I adore street art, fell in love with Miami’s beach huts, and still *partially* enjoy Instagram. Yes there is the pain of algorithms… of photos not being seen by the lovely people who decided to follow you. There’s the time it takes to curate photos that you think others will appreciate. The fear when you’re on a press trip and you can’t find THE shot. But I still enjoy it, and to be honest I think it’s partly because I use it as one form of travel inspiration, and partly because of these colourful souls.